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Last Friday Antoine Frérot took part in the debate on the legal and economic issues involved in the Global Pact for the Environment

On Friday 22 June in Paris, a debate was held on the legal and economic issues involved in the Global Pact for the Environment. The event brought together Laurent Fabius, former president of COP 21 and president of France’s constitutional council, Jeffrey Sachs, special advisor to the UN Secretary-General, and Antoine Frérot, Veolia Chairman and CEO.

Towards a Global Pact for the Environment

After the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, the Global Pact for the Environment is the first international treaty covering global environmental governance.
It is based on two principles: the right to a healthy environment and the duty to protect and care for it. This legal framework also emphasizes the role of civil society, economic actors and the territories in protecting the environment.

Following the presentation of the preliminary draft to the United Nations General Assembly last September by French President Emmanuel Macron, by a large majority the UN adopted a resolution initiating the creation of an intergovernmental working group. The resulting recommendations will be presented to the 2019 UN General Assembly.

"This pact is a paradigm shift: it makes it possible to do for the environment what has been done for human rights. If we want economic actors to be happy with it and act, we need the law. And the extraterritoriality of this law is based on a growing concern for the environment, and a fundamental change in our relationship to living things, space and time. Responsibilities are no longer local. This movement goes in the direction of ever greater and wider responsibility," explained Laurent Fabius.

This Global Pact gives companies a predictable framework

Speaking in the debate, Antoine Frérot said: "Companies must make commitments to protecting the environment, which then determines their right to operate in the long term. In this context the Pact is good news. It will further clarify what is expected of businesses. It provides the predictability, stability and legal certainty that companies demand."